The chairwoman of Bath BID said the group wants to “distance itself” from what one of its managers said about a new scheme to board up empty shop doorways.

In a statement seemingly at odds with the views of ranger services manager John Raby, she sought to downplay the desire to keep out homeless people from sleeping there.

An empty doorway in Green Street was covered up after a group of homeless people had taken to living in it.

Mr Raby of the Business Improvement District said: "A lot of people were living there. They were urinating there, they were even phoning for Deliveroo pizzas.

“They were becoming pretty objectionable. They can be aggressive, unpleasant,”

But now the pro-business group's chairwoman said the group does not endorse Mr Raby's sentiments.

Maeve England said: "We have been dismayed by the recent story in the Bath Chronicle (‘Empty shop doorways in central Bath boarded up to tackle 'objectionable' homeless sleepers’) which misrepresents why vacant shop units in Bath are being dressed by the Bath Business Improvement District (BID).

"It is not to tackle homeless sleepers as the story suggests, but rather is part of a wider and already publicised strategy of minimising the visual impact of vacant shop units in the city centre."

The statement from Mrs England is in contrast to Mr Raby's comments who, during an interview with the Bath Chronicle said: “We had a problem in Green Street. We therefore boarded up the recess, put a covering in it and it was very well received by retailers of Green Street.”

Mrs England also took a stand against comments made in the same interview by the local authority’s cabinet member for community services Councillor Martin Veal that homelessness is largely a lifestyle choice.

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“Habitual aggressive professional begging certainly is objectionable and we support all efforts to address this problem, but the Bath BID does not make an automatic connection between professional begging, antisocial behaviour and homelessness."

Mrs England also said deterring rough sleepers was not the primary reason for boarding up empty shop doorways.

Empty shop in Union Passage

“The boarding and dressing of vacant shop fronts serves several purposes, including aesthetic, marketing and security.

“It cannot be denied that boarding a shop front makes it difficult or impossible for rough sleepers, but that is certainly not the primary reason the Bath BID is investing in these improvements.

“The Bath BID Company and Bath BID Board would like to distance itself from opinions stated in this article.”